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And Now -- the President!

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Message Kathy Malloy
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Cross-posted from Mike Malloy.com

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Welcome, Truthseekers to the Presidential Address!

Tonight President Obama will pick up where the Big Dog left off to inspire the Democratic masses to turn out in November and punch their chads for the Obama/Biden ticket. There's no question his speech will be more eloquent and substantive than Mittens', but will it be enough to sway the weary voters?

US News and World Report has this opinion on what the President needs to deliver tonight:

We know, based on the last two nights of the Democratic convention, that love is stronger than hate. Those who love President Obama and support him are able to exude far more energy and demonstrate greater commitment to him than those who dislike him. Where in Tampa the Republican convention seemed largely listless on television, the gathering in Charlotte is raucous, emotional, and deeply engaged.

[Check out political cartoons about the 2012 presidential election.]

This is a great asset for President Obama, for two distinct reasons. First, as a speaker, the audience will be strongly on his side. The applause lines will get big applause. And that energy will translate to the people watching on television -- which matters. Second, it gives him the same advantage that George W. Bush enjoyed in 2004: positive energy and momentum, even in the face of a forceful opposition. Obama's supporters are fighting for something, whereas Mitt Romney's are fighting against it.

That said, there is one problem Obama must face, and he must do it in his speech tonight: While everyone in Charlotte is a true believer, a majority of the nation is not. The polls show Obama on the wrong side of every key metric of popular opinion: right track/wrong track, approval/disapproval, deserves re-election/doesn't deserve it. At this stage, the only key poll he wins (and it depends on who's doing the polling) is the head-to-head with Romney.

[Read about the dozen most memorable political convention speeches.]

So, when Obama takes the stage, and you see the cheering and emotional outpouring of support, remember this: His target audience isn't in Charlotte. The target audience is sitting in their living rooms, staying up to watch this speech. Their arms are folded, the eyebrows are arched and they are asking themselves one big question: Why should I vote for this guy again?

So here's what the president should do:

  1. He should do a search and replace on every one of the key phrases that he used in the 2008 stump, convention, and election night speeches. The Republicans have nailed Obama for repeating, almost word for word, key phrases from those speeches, now in 2012. The underlying problem is that for Obama's audience, it's not 2008 anymore. It's 2012, and four years later, the future tense promises and to-do lists need to be retired. It's time for accomplishment: challenges met, problems solved. That means new language.

  2. He should stop chiseling marble. The president's rhetoric has an arching, grand, and sometimes vain quality. It sometimes feels like he is searching for the phrases that will be etched into the stone of the Obama Monument, when it's built on the Washington Mall. But as we saw with the first lady's tender speech on Tuesday night, the best way for the president to connect is with the ordinary language and experiences of ordinary people.

  3. He should frame his accomplishments as consistent with the American experience. Too often, Obama has set himself apart and above his predecessors, and I'm not just talking about his swipes at President Bush. He openly crowed that no prior Democratic president was able to deliver on some kind of health insurance entitlement, but he did. It's true, but that makes the accomplishment seem like an outlier, inconsistent with what the country wants and has been willing to do before him. Most Americans dislike Obamacare, and that opposition has only hardened. There is a way for Obama to set that victory into the context of America's historical experience, which undeniably has seen entitlements expand over time. His message should be simple: "I know there are many of you who have questions over what this benefit will mean. There were questions about Social Security and there were questions about Medicare. I have to admit that I had questions about the drug benefit that my predecessor added to Medicare. But in the end, those questions were answered, the problems resolved, and America became, in the words of one of my predecessors, a kinder, gentler place. Every president owes this nation his or her commitment to build on what was done before. Not tear it down. I've spent four years building on the work of others. And in the next four, I will continue to build America on the foundations we have all inherited."

  4. He should dive into the issues of foreign policy and national security. The empty space left by the Republicans in Tampa wasn't Clint Eastwood's empty chair, but the candidate's lack of discussion of America's leadership in the world. Obama must move beyond "I killed Osama" and focus on the dangers that face America in the next four years. The biggest advantage Obama enjoys is that he's a known quantity, and across a majority of voters, he's more trusted on national security. This is a pretty rare moment for a Democrat. Obama must hit it hard. "These have been turbulent times. We've seen monarchs deposed. Autocrats retired. The rise of Brazil in this hemisphere, the continued dominance of China in the East. Of course, not every change is one we would welcome. Sometimes, we choose our battles. But sometimes, our battles choose us. And when crisis arrives, America needs to know that its leader is trusted... is respected... and is ready."

  5. He needs to answer a very simple question: If Barack Obama is re-elected, what will he do starting in January 2013 that we haven't seen before? The big question looming over Obama is not that he's a bad guy. It's that the majority of the country doesn't think he's done a good job. They want to know why he deserves another four years. It's a dynamic Obama has not yet recognized, but he could start tonight. Instead of using the tagline "Forward" on his podium, he should dust off that oldie but goodie from 2008: Change. Ironic, isn't it?
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Kathy Malloy Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Kathy never expected a career in radio as a talk show producer. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Kathy was completing her nursing degree when in 2001 - in an emergency - she was asked to fill in as the producer of Mike's program. Within a few (more...)
 
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